Just take the interstate moving crooks to court. I beat Allied Van Lines. Part II.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/movers/allied_van_lines.htm

Happened to find the above link with more anguish caused by Allied Van Lines and its agents.

I read more at both that site and movingscam.com about consumers being held hostage and prohibited from suing the interstate movers. I understand the issues of proper venue and jurisdiction. Yet I still strongly believe the corporate crooks can't simply ignore a court summons that only gives them 30 days to respond or face a default judgement. Very often, for them just to hire an attorney to respond to your complaint would cost much more than the amount involved. On the other hand, would the crooks file counterclaims? I doubt it.

Call it "creative lawyering." The game is to be courageous to be your own lawyer, also known as pro se, and file the complaint against both the interstate moving company and its local agent. (The court clerk will help you find the info.) You can then mail the summons to the defendants, who have 30 days to respond.

If the defendants (unlikely) ignored the summons, you would win by default and can get a court order to confiscate the defendants' assets.

If the defendants hired an attorney to respond and attempt to dismiss your complaint, the retainer, usually a thousand bucks, would cost more than the disputed amount. (By law, a corporation must be represented by an attorney who will need time to review the documents and study the case. No cheap alternatives.)

If the case really reaches the courtroom, don't be afraid at all. The judge and the jury usually have a sympathetic heart and want to hear the victim's story and respond. (The judge simply says: "I want to hear it.") Nobody could predict how a judge or a jury decides. The crooks would not want to go through the uncertainty and the resulting testimony and judgements go into the public records, not to mention the fact that attorneys usually charge the crooks a large retainer and bill them by the minutes. After all, judges and jurors usually sympathize the victims. (Let the crooks appeal. They will not get pro bono legal assistance.)

Originally published March 8, 2005.